A Pandemic Roadtrip: Part 3 

Heading north

The only restaurant food I had on the entire trip was in Missoula.  I stopped at a small, local shop on Hwy 93.  I walked up to the restaurant, and was greeted on the sidewalk by an employee.  Several menus were on display boards along the sidewalk; it could have been a drive-in.  There was only one other customer, a fellow traveler on a motorcycle.  I placed an order, and waited out on the walk.

Any drive through western Montana is a passage through some beautiful country.  The temps had dropped dramatically from the day before, the skies were overcast, and a light mist hung in the air.  Highway 93 winds north out of Missoula, skirting the western shoreline of Flathead Lake.  Eventually, it passes through Kalispell and Whitefish.  The only bad traffic was in Whitefish.  Oddly enough, I think it was the worst of the entire trip.

The Portal was different.  Most of the normal questions were not asked, although I was asked if I was transporting a firearm.  Covid-19 questions were on the front burner, opioid questions came in second.  In all my travels through Canada, this was the first time my car was searched.  And boy, was it searched.  An agent even opened a mouthwash bottle, and did not screw the lid on properly.  My duffle will have a minty fresh scent for the rest of the trip.

I was a bit surprised about the overzealous border agent, but I chalked it all up to boredom.  I was there for approximately 40 minutes, and no one else came through.  I was given my orders:  Take the shortest route to the Alaska border, no stopping for food, no stopping for pictures, and only pay for gas at the pump.  During the search, they found that I had all the food needed to cross, along with plenty of water and camping gear.  I was asked if I had lodging plans, and I said I only had one night planned – camping near Golden, British Columbia.  They must have been satisfied, because they let me pass.

*A footnote: I am not complaining about the procedure, as much as I’m detailing the account for other travelers.  The world has changed, even between neighbors.  I am extremely grateful that the Canadian officials let me return home through their country.  They did not have to, and I am fully aware of that fact.  Still, it was a night and day different experience, from what I have been through in the past.

The ZX resting in Kootenay NP

My first camp site in Canada was in BC’s Kootenay National Park.  A little more formal of a setting than I had been visiting up until this point.  Much of the facilities were closed.  One tidbit of info: Just because a website says they have working showers at the campground, does not mean that one is allowed to use the working showers.  All were shutdown due to the pandemic.

Notice, once again, I lost a front license plate to a souvenir hunter.  The Nissan has been without a front plate since a visit to Tampa, Florida in 2016.

Back in bear country